Heather Castleden, PhD
Assistant Professor

Phone: 902.494.2966
Email: heather.castleden(AT)dal.ca

Affiliations
School for Resource and Environmental Studies
Faculty of Management (Major Appointment)

Co-Principal Investigator: Atlantic Aboriginal Health Research Program. Network Environments for Aboriginal Health Research

Research Associate: Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre

New Investigator:  Network for End of Life Studies

Cross Appointments
Department of Community Health and Epidemiology
Faculty of Medicine (Cross Appointment)

Department of Bioethics, Faculty of Medicine

College of Sustainability

Academic Training
SSHRC and NEARBC Postdoctoral Fellow (University of Victoria)
PhD Human Geography (University of Alberta)
MEd Adult and Higher Education (University of Alberta)
BA Anthropology and Native Studies (University of Manitoba)
Dip. American Sign Language Interpretation (Douglas College)

External Awards
2010: Julian M. Szeicz Award: This award is presented annually by the Canadian Association of Geographers in recognition of a significant achievement by a Canadian Geographer at an early career stage, specifically in recognition of my contribution to the geography of  environment, health and Indigenous community-based research.
2008: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Award: A prize to recognize the outstanding contribution of a recent PhD graduate in Geography from the Canadian Association of Geographers.

Professional Affiliations
Canadian Association of Geographers
American Association of Geographers
International Association for Society and Natural Resources
International Association for Ecology and Health

Overview
Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories is where it all began - I was born there. I then grew up in various parts of Manitoba before moving to the West Coast to start my training and first career as an interpreter - though I eventually made my way back to the Prairies. From there, the travel bug bit and so I headed ‘down under’ for a year of backpacking. When I returned to Canada I was ready for grad school. I went west, stopping off in Alberta to do a Master’s Degree, get married, start a PhD, and have a baby. I then continued west to Vancouver Island to finish my PhD, have another baby, and do a Postdoctoral Fellowship. Now I am here on the East Coast in my thirdyear as a member of the SRES professoriate at Dalhousie. To learn more about how I got here – check out the preface of my dissertation – it tells all.

Hobbies
Two years ago I said, “Who has time for hobbies as a new professor? Ask me again next year.” A year has come and gone and I would say that I still don’t have time for hobbies, so ask me again after I get tenure! Seriously though, I like to hang out with my family (two kids) and friends. When it is warm and sunny I like to go for walks in the woods, swims, rides (motorcycle or bicycle), canoeing, or strolling through local farmers’ markets. Whenever possible, I like to follow those activities up with something brewed or blended on a patio or my backyard deck. When it is cold and snowy I am keen to go cross-country skiing, sledding, or snowboarding (but it’s been a while). I am kind of into single malts these days but red wines go down pretty easy too. I’ve been trying to learn the guitar forever (with little success) and I do like to bake but I don’t always follow the recipe (this could be perceived as a warning or a magnet for prospective students and community partners). I would say the “hobbies” I enjoy the most though are dancing (don’t do it enough) and debating (do it too much?).

Research Interests

My program of community-based social, health and environment research is primarily unified through: 1) participatory research with Indigenous partners concerning issues that are important to them; 2) shared development and testing of innovative qualitative research tools that adhere to Indigenous principles for decolonizing methodologies; and 3) engagement in studies concerning the ethical tensions and institutional barriers associated with community-based participatory research processes and outcomes.

(1) Social, Environmental, and Health Equity: I am particularly interested in understanding, comparing, and contrasting Indigenous and non-Indigenous risk perspectives regarding social, environmental, and health impacts and adaptations in resource-dependent communities associated with environmental change. Particularly, I am concerned with how these perspectives are expressed and differentiated among and between stakeholders and decision-makers, and the implications these perspectives bring to bear on social-ecological communities.

(2) Methodological Innovation: My research stream on methodology takes, as its point of departure, the contributions of my doctoral research, in which I modified and subsequently evaluated the cultural applicability of using Photovoice, an innovative visual/oral research tool, to identify, document, and understand Indigenous environment and health perspectives. My postdoctoral program of study has involved training in and exploration of additional digital/visual methods. As an emerging methodologist, I am now testing digital storytelling as a method and dissemination tool in community-based research regarding the cultural, social, economic, and political implications of environmental change.

(3) Ethics: Through my stream of research on ethics I am continuing to build on my postdoctoral studies through inquiry into the distinctive nature of ethics associated with community-based and participatory research. Key principles of both include shared decision-making power and ownership in all phases of the research, community capacity, mutual trust and learning between team members, and integrated knowledge disseminated for the mutual benefit of all partners. The tensions associated with these principles, particularly the ‘ethically significant moments’ that occur after an ethics review board gives its approval, are ever present and require constant attention through rigorous and reflexive research.

To summarize: My career trajectory is to build a program of integrated, methodologically- and ethically-sound community-based participatory research that combines these four streams in the context of coastal communities in Canada. My research is geared towards developing a response to these and other issues in a way that maintains my record of engaging in innovative scholarship that plans for and creates social and environmental change. I would describe my work as the product of a balancing act between academic engagement and advocacy.

Graduate Student Supervision (Master of Environmental Studies)
If you are interested in undertaking graduate research in my lab, please send me an email. Provide a brief statement of your research interests (500 words) along with an up-to-date resume and a copy of your (unofficial) undergraduate transcripts.

HEC Research Lab
To view my lab’s current activities please click here.

Recent Publications   
CASTLEDEN, H., Sloan Morgan, V. & Lamb, C. (Accepted). Exploring the tensions of community-based participatory research: From theory to practice. The Canadian Geographer.

Kot, M., CASTLEDEN, H., & Gagnon, G. (2011). Unintended consequences of regulating drinking water in rural Canadian communities: Examples from Atlantic Canada. Health & Place 17(5): 1030-1037. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2011.06.012.

Johnson, L., & CASTLEDEN, H. (2011). Greening the campus without grass: Using visual methods to integrate student values in campus landscape development and water sustainability planning. Area 43(3): 353-361. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4762.2011.01001.x.

Crooks, V., Schuurman, N., Cinnamon, J., & CASTLEDEN, H., & Johnston, R. (2011). Refining a location analysis model using a mixed-method approach: Community readiness as a key factor in siting rural palliative care services. Journal of Mixed Methods Research 5(1): 77-95.

Crooks, V., CASTLEDEN, H., Hanlon, N., & Schuurman, N. (2011). “Heated political dynamics exist…”: Examining the inter-community, inter-site, and inter-professional politics of palliative care in rural British Columbia, Canada. Palliative Medicine 25(1): 26-35.

CASTLEDEN, H., Sloan Morgan, V. & Neimanis, A. (2010). Researchers’ perspectives on collective/community co-authorship in community-based participatory Indigenous research. Journal of Empirical Research on Health Research Ethics 5(4): 23-32.

CASTLEDEN, H., Crooks, V., Hanlon, N., & Schuurman, N. (2010). Providers’ perceptions of Aboriginal palliative care in British Columbia’s rural interior. Health & Social Care in the Community 18(5): 483-491. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2524.2010.00922.x.

Crooks, V., CASTLEDEN, H., & Tromp-van Meerveld, I. (2010). Teaching research methods courses in Geography: A critical reflection on challenges encountered and sources of support. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 34(2): 155-171.   

CASTLEDEN, H. Crooks, V., Schuurman, N., & Hanlon, N. (2010). ‘It’s not necessarily the distance on the map …’: Using place as an analytic tool to elucidate geographic issues central to rural palliative care. Health & Place 16(2):284-290. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.10.011.

Giles, A., CASTLEDEN, H., & Baker, A. (2010). “We listen to our Elders. You live longer that way”: Examining aquatic risk communication and water safety practices in Canada’s North. Health & Place 16(1):1-9. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.05.007.   

CASTLEDEN, H. (2009). Rethinking Key Concepts: A Precursor to Rethinking Environmental Management. Environments: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 36(3) 73-89.

CASTLEDEN, H., Garvin, T., & Huu-ay-aht First Nation (2009). Hishuk Tsawak (Everything is One/Connected): A Huu-ay-aht worldview for seeing forestry in British Columbia. Society & Natural Resources 22(9):789–804.   

Crooks, V., CASTLEDEN, H., Schuurman, N., & Hanlon, N. (2009). Visioning for secondary palliative care service hubs in rural communities. BMC: Health Services Research 8(15).

Kreber, C., & CASTLEDEN, H. (2009). Reflection on teaching and epistemological structure: Reflective and critically reflective processes in 'pure/soft' and 'pure/hard' fields. Higher Education 57(4): 509-531.   

Giles, A. R., & CASTLEDEN, H. (2008). Community co-authorship in academic publishing: A commentary. Canadian Journal of Native Education 31(1): 208-216.   

CASTLEDEN, H., Garvin, T., & Huu-ay-aht First Nation. (2008). Modifying Photovoice for community-based participatory Indigenous research. Social Science & Medicine 66(6): 1393-1405.   

Current Research

Current Teaching at SRES:
ENVI5035: Research Design and Methods
ENVI5039: Indigenous Perspectives on Natural Resource Issues (Field Course)
ENVI5500: Socio-political Dimensions of Resource and Environmental Management

Synopsis of My Teaching Philosophy
Teaching and Learning Scholarship: While my main research focus has been on human-nature relationships, I also have a passion for research on teaching. I strive to bring my research to the classroom and to take the classroom to the “field”. Where possible, I conduct dual-role research and teaching, collaborating with students and/or other faculty.

Teaching is a critical aspect of academia and I welcome opportunities to teach. I believe the major goals of teaching are to inspire and challenge students to think critically about the world we live in. Rather than taking the position that the teacher is the sole expert, I embrace the idea that the teacher is an active co-learner, collaborating with students in the learning environment. Approaching the role of teaching from a facilitation and mentorship perspective provides greater opportunities for student creativity and integrity while engaging in a learning activity. At the same time, a teacher must be equipped with appropriate resources, content knowledge, and awareness of different cultural values, ways of learning, and worldviews. Teachers are also responsible for creating a structure within which learning can take place and providing a safe, open, and respectful learning environment. In all of my teaching experiences, In order to honour the diversity of student experience in my classes, I strive towards implementing creative and meaningful learning opportunities for students based on the knowledge and skills I have acquired through professional training and practice.

As a subscriber to “Tomorrow’s Professor”, an online forum for excellence and innovation in faculty teaching, I often come across meaningful excerpts and pieces that inspire and challenge me to think of the role of teaching in academia in new ways. I came across the following excerpt that struck a chord for me:

I hope I can do the same as Professor Hoyle regarding the students who come to learn with me! In sum, the more I learn through research and teaching, the more I am able to draw on my repertoire of experiences, interactions, and critical reflections, which will, in turn, contribute to my teaching-learning transactions in the classroom and beyond.